OPEC Secretary General visits the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington D.C.

Vienna, Austria, 13 October 2016--OPEC Secretary General, HE Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, and a delegation from the OPEC Secretariat, visited the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on Thursday (06 October) during participation at the International Monetary Fund/World Bank meetings and held talks on various oil and energy-related matters.

The discussions were held in an informal setting and included OPEC making a short presentation on recent oil market developments. In this regard, HE Barkindo also provided background on the decision taken by the Organization at the 170th (Extraordinary) Meeting of the OPEC Conference. This included the consultations that led to the landmark decision of the OPEC-14, and how this will help restore balance and sustainability to the oil market.

HE Barkindo also emphasized the important role of non-OPEC producing countries in the market rebalancing process, reflecting on the need for a broad and inclusive approach to deliver the sustainable stability valued by all producers, and consumers.

Besides short-term oil market prospects, the discussions also covered the medium- to long-term outlook, including market trends and uncertainties, primarily driven by the economy, energy policy directions and technology.

The open exchange of views was appreciated by both parties and it was agreed that it would be beneficial to continue with such technical interactions on oil and energy-related issues on a regular basis.

Established in Washington, D.C. over 50 years ago, the CSIS is a bipartisan, nonprofit policy research organization dedicated to providing strategic insights and policy solutions, including on energy.